Diets & Weight Maintenance Support Group

Chat about how well your latest diet is -- or is not -- working. This group is a great place to find support and accountability as well as share success stories and valuable lessons with the community. From where to start to weekly weigh-ins, get help from others to reach your dieting and weight maintenance goals.

Weekly Weigh-In (August 11-17) Self Care Practices

Meditation won't do you any good if you aren't getting adequate sleep. In fact, when you try to meditate, you might doze off because you aren't taking care of your body's need for sleep.

Similarly, hitting the gym once in a while won't relieve much stress if you're only fueling your body with high-processed junk food. You need to take care of your basic needs first if you want your stress relief activities to be effective.

According to a 2017 journal article titled, "Development of a Self-Care Assessment for Psychologists," self-care is defined as, "a multidimensional, multifaceted process of purposeful engagement in strategies that promote healthy functioning and enhance well-being."

Self-care is vital for building resilience toward those stressors in life that you can't eliminate. When you've taken steps to care for your mind and body, you'll be better equipped to live your best life.

Unfortunately, however, many people view self-care as a luxury, rather than a priority. Consequently, they're left feeling overwhelmed, tired, and ill-equipped to handle life's inevitable challenges.

It's important to assess how you're caring for yourself in several different domains so you can ensure you're caring for your mind, body, and spirit.

1. Physical Self-CareYou need to take care of your body if you want it to run efficiently. Keep in mind that there's a strong connection between your body and your mind. When your caring for your body, you'll think and feel better too.

Physical self-care includes how you're fueling your body, how much sleep you're getting, how much physical activity you are doing, and how well you're caring for your physical needs. Attending appointments, taking medication as prescribed, and managing your health are all part of good physical self-care.

When it comes to physical self-care, ask yourself the following questions to assess whether there might be some areas you need to improve: • Are you getting adequate sleep?• Is your diet fueling your body well?• Are you taking charge of your health?• Are you getting enough exercise?

2. Social Self-CareSocialization is key to self-care. But, often, it's hard to make time for friends and it's easy to neglect your relationships when life gets busy.

Close connections are important to your well-being. The best way to cultivate and maintain close relationships is to put time and energy into building your relationships with others.

There isn't a certain number of hours you should devote to your friends or work on your relationships. Everyone has slightly different social needs. The key is to figure out what your social needs are and to build enough time in your schedule to create an optimal social life.

To assess your social self-care, consider:

• Are you getting enough face-to-face time with your friends?• What are you doing to nurture your relationships with friends and family?

3. Mental Self-CareThe way you think and the things that you're filling your mind with greatly influence your psychological well-being. Mental self-care includes doing things that keep your mind sharp, like puzzles, or learning about a subject that fascinates you. You might find reading books or watching movies that inspire you fuels your mind.Mental self-care also involves doing things that help you stay mentally healthy. Practicing self-compassion and acceptance, for example, helps you maintain a healthier inner dialogue. Here are a few questions to consider when you think about your mental self-care:

Are you making enough time for activities that mentally stimulate you?

Are you doing proactive things to help you stay mentally healthy?

4. Spiritual Self-Care Research shows that a lifestyle including religion or spirituality is generally a healthier lifestyle.

Nurturing your spirit, however, doesn't have to involve religion. It can involve anything that helps you develop a deeper sense of meaning, understanding, or connection with the universe.

As you consider your spiritual life, ask yourself: • What questions do you ask yourself about your life and experience?• Are you engaging in spiritual practices that you find fulfilling?

5. Emotional Self-CareIt's important to have healthy coping skills to deal with uncomfortable emotions, like anger, anxiety, and sadness. Emotional self-care may include activities that help you acknowledge and express your feelings on a regular basis.

Whether you talk to a partner or close friend about how you feel, or you set aside time for leisure activities that help you process your emotions, it's important to incorporate emotional self-care into your life.

When assessing your emotional self-care strategies, consider these questions:• Do you have healthy ways to process your emotions?• Do you incorporate activities into your life that help you feel recharged?

Develop Your Self-Care PlanSelf-care isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy. Your self-care plan will need to be customized to your needs. A self-care plan for a busy college student who feels mentally stimulated all the time and has a bustling social life might need to emphasize physical self-care.

On the other hand, a retired person may need to incorporate more social self-care into their schedule to make sure that their social needs are being met.

Assess which areas of your life need some more attention and self-care. And reassess your life often. As your situation changes, your self-care needs are likely to shift too.

When you discover that you're neglecting a certain aspect of your life, create a plan for change.

You don't have to tackle everything all at once. Identify one small step you can take to begin caring for yourself better.

Then, schedule time to focus on your needs. Even when you feel like you don't have time to squeeze in one more thing, make self-care a priority. When you're caring for all aspects of yourself, you'll find that you are able to operate more effectively and efficiently.https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729---------------------------------------------------------------------------Remember the (4) S's for weighing:

♦ Same TIME of day (on the)♦ Same DAY each week (wearing the)♦ Same CLOTHING (and using the)♦ Same SCALE to Measure Yourself - Remember, sometimes the scale doesn't budge, but the waistline will.----------------------------------------------------------------------------As my MS had me on the floor for several hours today, I couldn't help but think how more strength can always make life a lot more enjoyable. This article seems to cover the sentiment quite well. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and the week ahead everyone!

This article hit home. I definitely need more self care. Some I'm trying to do. And some there's nothing I can do about it. Have lots of anxiety. Did manage to lose 6 # this week. Hopefully I'm on the right path.

Lorrie, I love this self care article - lots to think about.
-1 (137) this week.
I am working on keeping the motivation going and watching portion sizes.
Take care everyone and have a great weekend. Lots of rain in Florida, but at least it is cooler.

I am really pleased I maintained my 9stone 12 pounds weight. Yesterday I ate far more than the day before and did very little, today I am back on my painting project, which isnt my idea of fun, but, it needs doing, the skirting boards and door frames etc. Have a succesful day everyone.

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